Seniors today are beginning to worry about the future of social security, health care and escaping the throws of poverty. Birth rates in North America have been on the downturn for the last decade, and especially in the last five years since the Great Recession. Studies have shown that the so-called millennial women are reproducing at the slowest pace of any generation in U.S. history. The same is most likely true for Canadian millennials. According to the Urban Institute in the States, birthrates among women in their 20s declined more than 15 percent between 2007 and 2012.
Now, I understand that younger women were delaying having children in the past because more were into careers and self-employment. With the current tough economic times, even more women are delaying child birth due to serious financial concerns. This is completely understandable given the high cost of raising children in this day and age. Baby boomers never had to face many of today’s harsh realties, including high levels of unemployment, underemployment, housing costs and education-related debt.
On the other hand, we have an aging population, with those over 65 heading to make up a quarter of our population in the not too distant future. Indeed, extreme financial circumstances are forcing many seniors to continue working beyond the normal retirement years. However, once retired and with the forecast decline in the future labour forces, who is going to support all those existing social programs? Due to a lack of retirement savings for many seniors, they have come to rely on government assistance just to make ends meet. Furthermore, don’t count on your kids to look after you! As it stands now, they need your help more often than not.
As a society, it would appear that we have to do a lot more to encourage young people to have families, and right away. This may mean greater financial incentives and government assistance to do so. We need to introduce more paid maternity and parental leave programs, affordable child-care services, tax benefits for each child, improved post-secondary education grants and loans, affordable housing, etc., etc. Seniors need to support such initiatives, for to do so will benefit them as well in the end run. Wouldn’t they like to become grandparents while they’re still alive? The old saying that children represent our future has never been truer. It’s time that we recognize and support policies that would lead to an increase in the birth rate. Families contribute to society in so many ways. Such family-oriented policies will certainly enhance all our futures, including those of the millennials.
FROLITICKS 
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